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5 of the best Derbyshire and Peak District caravan holiday parks - 2020

Derbyshire and the Peak District is a convenient and scenic spot for a holiday if you’re in the East Midlands, West Midlands or Yorkshire. Matlock, Bakewell and Buxton are pretty towns whilst Chatsworth House and Ladybower Reservoir are worth a visit. And then, of course there's the rolling hills of the Peak District for walking (perhaps less appealing for small children...).

There isn’t as wide a choice of caravan parks in Derbyshire and the Peak District as you’ll find in some resorts with many of the accommodation being lodges with hot tubs. However, some of these are comparable in price to more basic accommodation in more expensive areas, such as Cornwall or Devon.

We've chosen five of the best Peak District and Derbyshire lodges with hot tubs and caravan holiday parks by looking at customer reviews, facilities, value for money and location. 

1. Landal Sandybrook Lodges (swimming pool, great reviews, hot tubs, near CBeebies Land)

**Winner: best value holiday park**

Dutch company Landal Greenparks offers something of an alternative to Center Parcs – although not on the same scale. They’ve got five holiday parks in the UK, two of which are in Derbyshire.

The accommodation is lodges so they’re not as cheap as some caravan parks but they are comparable in price to Haven and customer reviews are glowing (4.5/5 mostly).

Landal Sandybrook is very well equipped with plenty to keep children entertained, although bear in mind that you’ll pay extra for many of the activities (much like Center Parcs).

The activities bundled in the accommodation price include an indoor swimming pool and sauna, play room for toddlers, outdoor play area and woodland walks. You’ll pay extra for things like archery, mini golf, fencing or snorkeling in the swimming pool

In terms of location, Landal Sandybrook is right at the southern end of the Peak District so it’ll take about 40 minutes in the car to get to Eyam or 30 minutes to Buxton. One real plus point is that it's only about 25 minutes from Alton Towers and CBeebies Land. We drove for nearly three hours to get to CBeebies Land, by which point the children (and the grown-ups) were ready to come home...

Price: £1189 for a Tissington Classic Skyline lodge for a family of four for a week in August 2020

2. Landal Darwin Forest, near Matlock (indoor swimming pool, loads to do, hot tubs and lodges)

Landal Greenpark's other Derbyshire holiday park is further north but it’s pretty similar in terms of reviews (4.5/5). Darwin Forest has more to do onsite but Sandybrook (see number 2) has the advantage of being a bit nearer to Alton Towers and CBeebies Land.

The indoor swimming pool and sauna are included, but you’ll pay extra for things like indoor play, spa treatments, tennis, mini golf and fencing. One nice addition Darwin Forest over Landal Sandybrook is a ‘Trim Trak’ obstacle course (a cross between a woodland walk and an obstable course).

In case you’re interested to the comparisons with Center Parcs, Darwin Forest has 120 acres over about 47 acres whilst most of the Center Parcs are about ten times as big, but have about 800 lodges. Landal Darwin Forest was about £600 cheaper than Center Parcs for similar dates and accommodation in our price comparison.

Local attractions include the Heights of Abraham (10 minutes drive, cable car, caves and playground) and Chatsworth House (15 minutes drive, stately home and playground).

Price: £1379 for a week in a Haddon Classic Vogue lodge for a family of four in August 2020

3. Lime Tree Park near Buxton (quiet park, simple facilities)

**Winner: cheapest holiday park**

Lime Tree Park is a simple, quiet and affordable caravan holiday park which is centrally located for exploring the Peak District.

The onsite facilities are limited to a play area and a TV lounge, so don’t turn up expecting hours of evening entertainment from crooners or a kids’ club. Despite the basic facilities, customer reviews are consistently very good (4.5/5 on TripAdvisor). Pets are allowed in some of the caravans.

Most of the accommodation on offer is caravans, although there are some ‘lodges’ which were only about £100 extra for a week in peak season when we checked.

Price: £625 for a week in a Chestnut caravan in August 2020 for a family of four

4. Charlesworth Lodges, near Glossop (quiet park, hot tubs)

Charlesworth Lodges are a simple option if you're travelling from North West England (e.g. Manchester or Liverpool). It's also one of the cheapest lodge parks of its kind that we've found in the UK

For what you'd expect to pay for a caravan you get a lodge with a hot tub at a park with very good reviews (9/10 on Hoseasons). An added quirk with this park is that you can hire luxury cars, complete with a chauffeur if you fancy pretending you're an oil tycoon.

The downside is that there aren't time filling facilities on-site for children but it's a good base for exploring either the Peak District or Manchester.

Price: £905 for a family of four staying in a two bedroom Woodland Lodge for a week in August 2020
Charlesworth Lodge
Charlesworth Lodge gets great reviews at a good price

5. Hazelhurst Lodges, near Chesterfield (peace and quiet, simple facilities)

Hazelhurst Lodges is near Ashover and Chesterfield, in a green and rural area just to the east of the Peak District National Park 

This is very much a hot tubs and prosecco sort of place rather than somewhere offering bingo and lager. There's no swimming pool but it's worth considering if you want to switch off the smartphone for a couple of days or go walking in the Peaks.

It's at the pricier end of the market but reviews are 5/5 from customers. 

Price: £1289 for a Honeysuckle Lodge with a hot tub for a family of four for a week in August 2020 (their larger lodges sleep six so you could bring along a couple of grandparents for about £300 extra)
Hazelhurst Lodge
Many of the lodges come with hot tubs

Price comparison of 5 of Derbyshire and the Peak District's best holiday caravan parks

We think Derbyshire and the Peak District offers really good value because most of the holiday parks are lodges with hot tubs rather than standard caravan parks. For our price comparison we looked for a week's holiday in August 2020 for a family of four. We looked for the cheapest accommodation available, excluding any extras or optional activities. From cheapest to most expensive:

  1. Lime Tree Park - £625 **Winner: cheapest holiday park**
  2. Charlesworth Lodges - £905 
  3. Landal Sandybrook - £1189 **Winner: best value holiday park**
  4. ​Hazelhurst Lodges - £1289
  5. Landal Darwin Forest - £1379​

Other guides from the Holiday Park Guru

Holiday-Park-Guru-Don't-Blame-Us-Disclaimer: All the information on this page is accurate, as far as we know. However, facilities at holiday parks change so please check with the park before booking.